The Vergecast — "Welp, I bought an iPhone again" (March 24, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, host David Pierce and The Verge’s senior phone reviewer Allison Johnson dive deep into David’s months-long experiment of trying nearly every phone he could get his hands on—flip phones, foldables, even phones with keyboards—in search of something better than the iPhone. After extensive real-world testing, David lands back where he started: buying the latest iPhone 17. The episode explores why phone switching is so painful, why foldables still aren’t quite “there,” how Android’s strengths stack up against iOS, app ecosystem woes, and the promise and pitfalls of new AI features. Listeners get brutally honest, candid reflections on modern smartphone life, plus some philosophical musings on productivity, OS workflows, and how AI might finally make our devices truly useful.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

[03:44] David’s “Phone Journey”: The Search for Something New

• Experiment: David spent months testing alternative phones ("flip phones and foldable phones. I tried a phone with a keyboard... tried to go and see if there is something better than the phone everybody just defaults to." [03:50])
• Goal: Challenge the default choice of the iPhone and see what the current smartphone landscape really offers.
• Result: Came full circle and bought the iPhone 17 in sage. "I am medium happy with the phone in the same way that I was medium happy with the iPhone 16." [05:22]

[06:04] The Agony of Switching Phones

• eSIM Nightmares: Moving eSIM from iPhone to Android was "a 36-hour process" involving calls to Verizon and even mom’s authentication. "Nightmare, nightmare process." [06:25]
• Inherited Lock-in: Pain of switching locks people into a platform, even among Android phones (unless within the same “ecosystem”).
• App/Data Migration: Messaging apps especially (Signal, WhatsApp), Kindle downloads, account logins—nothing is simple. "There is this unknowable amount of things you have to do every time you set up a new phone." [07:07]
• Allison’s Reviewer Routine: As a reviewer, she simply “yolos” it and starts fresh each time, often just losing message histories. "I just lose all my messages every time I switch phones." [08:35]
• Comedic Moment: Parking app woes, repeatedly re-downloading and logging in while standing in the street, much to her husband’s dismay. [09:52]
• Takeaway: Painful transfers discourage switching, contributing to ecosystem inertia. "If I have to do this stupid transfer one more time, I'm going to lose my mind." [11:35]

[11:35] Why Foldables and Flippables Aren’t (Yet) the Answer

• Core Problem: Flip phones have a software problem; foldables have a hardware problem.
• Foldables (Pixel Fold): Too big, awkward; not “one hand” friendly; durability/camera mushy; but surprisingly useful as a big screen for reading. "If you could just make it a little smoother and a little better... it is more screen and I like the more screen." [13:20]
• Flip Phones (Motorola Razr Ultra): Hardware is delightful; software is terrible. Apps constantly ask for new permissions on the outer screen, and workflows are clumsy. "It's as if no one at Motorola ever closed the phone when they were developing this thing." [13:59]
• Samsung’s struggles: Allison notes it's even wonkier, requiring sideloading (Good Lock).
• Killer App Lacking: “There just need to be 50 more” useful features for the form factor to click. [16:15]
• Humorous Frustration: "I have brought up Gemini by accident maybe 45,000 times..." [16:15]

[16:55] Spam, Voice Assistants, and the Battle of the OS AI

• Spam Calls: Pixels/Android block spam calls far more effectively than iPhone. David: "I get maybe 10 times as many spam calls on an iPhone than I do on Android." [17:19]
• Android AI (Gemini) vs. Siri: Gemini is vastly superior. More reliable, conversational, and actually assists with tasks/searches.
  • "Gemini is so much better than Siri. It is astounding. And it kind of changes the way I use my phone." [18:21] — David
• Gemini's Task Automation (Allison's Beta):
  • Can, for example, order Starbucks for pickup using a voice command—though slow, “this is the future.” [21:09–23:29]
  • "My mind is kind of blown because... You can ask Gemini, order me a pizza and it's gonna open the app and do the thing for you. And it works..." [21:12] — Allison

[27:45] Little AI “Nudges” and Quality-of-Life Features

• Smart Suggestions: Android’s contextual nudges (e.g., “Add to calendar” from texts) are “awesome” and make the OS feel more helpful and modern. [28:04]
• iOS still has some wins: Autocomplete for one-time codes is smoother on iOS.

[29:42] Authentication: The Persistent Pain

• Day-to-day headache: Logging into every account is still surprisingly clunky—password managers, face unlock, fingerprints, etc.—and each platform’s system isn’t perfect.
• Pixel’s dual biometric unblock (face and fingerprint) earns praise.
• Amazon/Kindle/Readwise: Disparate experiences, failed logins, lack of inter-app awareness highlighted as recurring friction. [30:55–31:52]
• Browser/in-app separation worse on iOS ("Full nightmare.")

[33:11] Messaging Lock-in: Overblown?

• Leaving iMessage Not That Hard: David deregistered and used Beeper/Google Messages without much fallout. "Leaving imessage was not hard and none of my friends are mad at me about it." [33:11]
• RCS: Now good enough for most purposes, and group chats moving to WhatsApp/Signal anyway.
• Allison jokes: "You have better friends." [33:46]

[34:53] Android’s Superior OS Design (With a Huge Catch)

• Notifications: "Notification management is like half the experience of using a phone. And Android is really good at it." [34:53]
• Triaging Notifications: Android is more sensible, iOS is cluttered, and Apple’s “summaries” and attempts at AI sorting fall short.
• Other UI wins: Autocorrect, notifications/apps tray gestures, and subtle usability choices, all better on Android.

Memorable Quotes:

• "Android is easier to use. Like, I really earnestly believe that and I think is actually a saner operating system." [35:53] — David

[37:37] …But Android Apps Are a Disaster

• App Quality Gap: "Android apps are bad and iOS apps are good. It's the whole... It was astonishing... it is always better on iOS." [37:37]
• Why David Switched Back:
  • Many favorite apps (often the most innovative) don’t exist or are neglected on Android.
  • Even cross-platform apps are nearly always better on iOS.
  • "That was the decision." [42:19]
• Allison’s Candid App Reviewer View: Android gets late and buggy updates, even for major apps. [40:25]
• Sympathy (but not Excuses): Android’s fragmentation, infinite screen sizes, and Google’s lack of developer guidance create a mess.
  • "Google has spent a lot of time trying to convince people to make an Android app that works everywhere on all screens and all devices forever, no matter what, without giving people the requisite tools to do that very easily." [43:12] — David
  • Joke about “Richard” the summer intern being the only person assigned to the Android app. [44:23]

[45:01] Final Thoughts: Did David Make the “Right” Decision?

• No Regrets (Mostly): For as much as he liked the Pixel, his real phone experience is about the 200 apps he uses—and those nearly all run better on iOS.
• Allison’s Reviewer Take: For most people already in the iOS ecosystem, there's no strong argument to leave; the base iPhone is excellent and stable. [45:11]
• Foldable Faith: Allison continues to hold out hope for book-style foldables. "I'm not ready to declare the death of the. The book style folding phone yet..." [46:02]
• David’s Lament: “For all the people who are going to send emails and call the hotline and yell at me about this, please understand this is not the outcome I was hoping for. But I hit a point where there's a bunch of apps I want to use and I have to use the phone that runs the apps.” [46:38]

[50:28] Hotline Question: "If Workers Don’t Know Their Own OS, What’s the Point?"

Caller: Dax

Summary of Question:
Why are so many tech workers skilled at AI but don’t know basic OS workflows (like Mission Control on macOS)? Should companies expect more digital literacy? And can AI help us actually use our devices efficiently?

[52:40] David’s Answer & Productivity Rant

• Productivity Principle #1: “Everyone should spend 10 minutes learning their software.” Use YouTube for tutorials; explore settings.
• AI as Modern Manual: AI excels at parsing manuals and can suggest novel workflows for existing apps. For instance: "I need a way to quickly text myself reminders..." Prompting an LLM can uncover hidden features.
• Mini-apps via LLMs: Chatbots can also help create “small utilities” to automate day-to-day tasks (bookmarklets, markdown link converters, etc).
• Modern Bixby: Old idea — your AI assistant should help you use your device. New LLM-powered features can finally deliver on this.
• David’s Core Point: Don’t reinvent the wheel—most of the time, better understanding your tools (with or without AI help) can make your tech life vastly easier.
  • "My computer and the AI on my computer should help me use my computer, should teach me how to use my computer." [57:04]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Switching phones is awful. Like, awful, awful, awful, awful. And it's everyone's fault and I don't know what to do about it." — David [06:04]
• "It's as if no one at Motorola ever closed the phone when they were developing this thing. And it drives me absolutely insane." — David [13:59]
• "Gemini is so much better than Siri. It is astounding. And it kind of changes the way I use my phone." — David [18:21]
• "I'm running around the house trying to get my. Put socks on my kid and pack all the snacks... I frequently want to order a Starbucks... At that point... that is the time for this feature..." — Allison [21:09]
• "Android is easier to use. Like, I really earnestly believe that and I think is actually a saner operating system." — David [35:53]
• "Android apps are bad and iOS apps are good." — David [37:37]
• "I would rather on balance, like if you were just like, David, you have to take a phone out of the box, download nothing and use it forever, I think I would have picked a Pixel 10 Pro..." — David [42:08]
• "Once you open an app, you're at the mercy of whether that developer was given any time to work on the Android app." — Allison [43:12]
• "For all the people who are going to send emails and call the hotline and yell at me about this, please understand this is not the outcome I was hoping for..." — David [46:38]
• "My computer and the AI on my computer should help me use my computer, should teach me how to use my computer." — David [57:04]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:44] — Start of phone journey & experiment outline
• [06:04] — Switching phones: the pain and logistics
• [11:35] — Deep dive on foldables and flippables: hardware/software woes
• [16:55] — Spam call management, AI voice assistants
• [21:09] — Gemini’s task automation in practice
• [27:45] — Little AI nudges and quality-of-life improvements
• [29:42] — Authentication & password manager pain
• [33:11] — Messaging lock-in debunked
• [34:53] — Android’s OS strengths vs. iOS
• [37:37] — App quality chasm: why David went back to iPhone
• [45:01] — Allison’s synthesis and final verdict
• [50:28] — Hotline question: OS literacy, productivity, and AI as teacher

Episode Tone

Candid, geeky, and self-deprecating; full of practical, sometimes painful tech wisdom, punctuated with dry humor and the honest exasperation of veteran gadget reviewers.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode is an in-depth, relatable exploration of why smartphone choice—and the experience of switching platforms—is much more than just specs or UI preference. With plenty of storytelling and sharp observations, it delivers both practical advice and the big-picture realities of tech in 2026. Whether you’re an Android fan, an Apple loyalist, or just phone-curious, you’ll come away understanding not just the how but the why behind real-world tech decisions today.